TAH-DAH!!!
Chapter Nine
I stared at the screen. The number wasn't an area code that I knew, and it for sure didn't look like anyone from home's number. But I hadn't given my number to anyone but Kitty, and I knew she wasn't texting me. Her phone was sitting on the table in the middle of the room, quite abandoned. I was starting to feel nervous; too many strange things had happened to me since I arrived, and I had only been here for a day. My stomach twisted into knots, and my hand started to shake. I pressed my free hand against my stomach, suppressing the damp clammy feeling that had overcome it. My mouth felt as if a cotton ball had been twisted around my tongue, and my vision blacked out as I heard the sounds of a crackling fire. My entire body felt uncomfortably warm. My phone slipped from my hand and clattered to the floor. My strength left me, and I collapsed. Fire. I felt like I was on fire. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't scream. I wanted to tear my clothes from my body to find some relief, but I was immobilized.
I could hear the terrified and frantic screams of Kitty as she called out my name, and Cam cursing harshly under his breath. I wanted to scream for help, but my voice was drown in the pain. I felt a pair of strong hands feel my face, and then a head was close to my chest. The sounds of the fire were roaring in my ears, and it seemed like it would consume me completely until it suddenly stopped. Another pair of hands were on my body now, against my neck, my wrists, my forehead. The flames were dying, and my body was returning to normal. I began to feel my limbs again, and I coughed myself back to life. My vision returned so quickly I had to close my eyes to keep from throwing up. Kitty was still screaming at me. I could hear Jay trying to quiet her, but she of course wasn't planning on listening. Then I heard a sultry voice speak.
“Laela, can you hear me?” it asked. It was Vance. “I need you to give me a sign that you can hear us.”
I squeezed my eyes shut tighter and nodded my head slowly, I tried to say 'Yes,' but my voice wouldn't respond to my body.
“Good, good. I'm going to take you to your room, okay?”
I nodded my head a little faster, and then I felt his arms slide under my body and lift me into his chest. He moved slowly, and steadily as he made his way across the short distance to my room. He set me gently on my bed, running his hand across my forehead and down my cheek, letting the tips of his fingers linger on my cheek. My eyes fluttered open slowly. He was standing over my bed, staring down at me, the dim light from the kitchen creating a halo of light around his head. He was smiling as he knelt down beside me.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, taking hold of my hand. “Jay's calling down to the nurse, but he wasn't sure if she'd be in.”
I opened my mouth and tried to force out a sound, but all that came was a dry rasp.
“Don't strain yourself. You just rest. I will ask simple yes and no questions.” I nodded my head and he continued. “Do you remember hitting the floor?” I nodded 'Yes.' “Okay, could you hear us while we talked to you?” I couldn't remember. I had heard incoherant words coming from Kitty, but nothing I could pick out. I shook my head, 'No.' “Hmm, could you feel your arms or legs?” 'No.' “Does your family have a history of seizures, or even panic attacks?” 'No,' at least not that I know of.
Someone else entered the apartment. By the sound of clicking on the lenolium I figured it was a woman. Her voice drifted through my open door and reached my ears. It was soft and melodic with a rich Irish drawl. She sounded like Keltie in ten years. The clicking stopped, and I heard a scuffing across my carpet; I turned my eyes away from Vance to look at her. She was an attractive lady, the wears of time on her brow beneath slightly graying hair that hung over her blue gray eyes. She smiled, laugh lines tugging at the corners of her mouth.
“You must be Laela,” she said sweetly, “I'm Mrs. McDuff, the school nurse. Lucky I hadn't left yet tonight. Your friends told me what happened. I think you may have had a panic attack. Can you speak?”
I opened my mouth and attempted another noise, and this time something came out. “Yes,” I wheezed.
“Excellent.” he replaced Vance kneeling beside my bed. Vance obediently retreated to the door, and conversed with Jay and Kitty outside. “Can you tell me what happened?”
“Um...” I tried to replay it in my mind, but all I could remember was the fire. Burning. “I felt like I was on fire. My whole body, and I could hear the cracking in my ears. And then... then I couldn't see anything.” I rasped.
She scribbled something on a pad of paper she had in her hands, and then raised the back of her hand to my forehead. I remained quiet while she assessed me, and felt a wave of fatigue wash over me. She muttered something, but I couldn't make any words out. My eyelids were heavy, and my body felt heavy on my bead. The nurse patted my head, and left my room.
I woke the next morning bright and early when my alarm rang at the insane hour of 5:30. I rolled over and slammed the snooze. The extra sleep didn't last long when Kitty came bounding into my room and declaring that I needed to get up if we were going to make it to breakfast on time. I rolled out of bed, and stumbled to the bathroom, my mind still fuzzy from sleep. The events of the night before were foggy, but the distinct sound of fire still haunted me in my dreams. I showered quickly and entered my room again to find Kitty sitting on my bed, her hair curled nicely, and her uniform looking crisp and neat. She smiled.
“Good morning.” she said, “I took the liberty of pressing your uniform while I did mine.” she motioned to my uniform laid out nicely on my bed.
I grimaced looking at it. Uniforms were never my thing. Kitty never left, sitting on the edge of the bed and waiting for me to get dressed. Awkwardly, I stepped behind her, and kept my towel pressed close to my body while I raked through my drawers to find a pair of underwear. Kitty kept talking while I got dressed, and when I had put my uniform on, I pulled on the pair of black knee socks and then stared at my feet. What shoes was I supposed to wear?
“Kitty, what do I do for shoes?” I asked, pointing to my stocking feet.
She giggled. “You can wear whatever shoes you want, as long as they're school colors. I spied a pair of cute black boots in your closet. You could try those, or you had a pair of black flats. We'll go shoe shopping later.” she said with a smile bigger than I had seen on anyone.
I crossed the room and pulled on my black flats and Kitty stood and left the room with me. She seemed to be watching everything I did, as if waiting for me to black out again. I kept glancing over at her, and she would smile as if she wasn't doing anything. The elevator took what seemed like forever to arrive on our floor, but when it came, the car was nearly packed. Kitty spied Jay and Cam inside, and managed to wedge herself into the car. She looked back at me and waved her hand. Reluctantly I stepped onto the elevator and pressed myself into the corner. I closed my eyes and prayed that the ride would be over quickly. The elevator stopped a few more times, but no one got in, thankfully, and we reached the main floor without dying. When the doors opened I stepped out, managing to avoid major embarrassment and staying on my feet. Kitty and the boys joined us and we went to breakfast together. Breakfast itself was amazing. Eggs any way you wanted them, with a biscuit and gravy and hash-browns. I never had breakfast like this even at home on the weekends. Cam snatched my schedule from my bag looked it over.
“We've got second and fourth together. You and Jay will have third. I hear that's a great class.” Cam said, smiling at me. “Jay loves it.”
“I love what?” Jay asked, glancing over at us.
“Shakespeare,”
“Oh! Do you have that class, Laela?”
I nodded. Jay smiled and proceeded to tell me the joys of taking Shakespeare from Mr. Lauri. He made everything enjoyable, and it wasn't just reading the play, the class acted it out as well. It was like a mini play every day. For once in my life, I might actually enjoy a drama class. Jay took the liberty of explaining that Shakespeare wasn't a conventional drama class because it was actually an English class. I laughed, and then a strange shrieking bell rang through the dining hall. We stood and I suddenly realized how lost I would be. I had no idea where on earth I was going, or how to get from one place to another. Kitty sensed my desperation and linked arms with me. We exited the building and walked across campus to another huge university-like building. If this was the school, I would die. As we walked through the door, my jaw dropped. This place was incredible! It topped every other high school and university I had ever seen. The tile work was amazing, and the old English style was warm and friendly. Kitty hugged Cam and Jay, telling them to get to class.
She tugged me along behind her, pointing to the hall numbers and rambling about how to get from class to class, but I just counted on asking others for directions, so I only half paid attention to her instructions. When we entered our classroom, I was taken to the set of many college movies. The lecture hall style of the classroom was something I wasn't used to. The professor sat at a long table below the students who were filling the rows quickly and preparing for the lesson. Kitty walked down a few rows and filed in next to another girl from our dorm room, Hillary. She waved me over and patted the stool beside her. Cautiously, I made my way down the steps, trying not to kill myself. I sat next to her, and Hillary leaned over, looking across Kitty to me.
“It's great that you have this class,” she said, “I'm Hillary, I don't think I've introduced myself to you yet, but I'm looking forward to getting to know you.”
I smiled. I wasn't all together sure she was genuine, but I could worry about that later. “I'm looking forward to it too.” I said and extracted a notebook from my backpack.
It was an old one from my science class back home. Hardly used, except for doodles between Keltie and I. I looked slowly over the pages, remembering the ridiculous stories that went with each picture. I laughed quietly, and stopped on the last page. It was something I hadn't seen before. Tony's handwriting littered the page. It was a letter.
Laela,
I've written a little something in each of your notebooks since the day you told us you were leaving. I also start with the exact same first three sentences. This is just so whatever notebook you happen to open first still leads you to find the others, and now, here's where it gets different. I'm going to miss you, and I hope that you miss me too. Don't go getting over me too fast. I hope that since you're away this doesn't change our relationship in any way. I hope whatever class you're in, or if you're just sitting around, you laughed when you saw all those doodles and remembered us at home. We love you. I love you. Always will.
Yours forever,
Tony.
I smiled. He was so cute.
“Adorable,” Kitty said, leaning over and pointing at the page. “He really does love you.”
I smiled at her. “Yes, he does. I love him too. He's the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Hillary hushed us as the teacher began lecturing. I listened intently to my teacher, Mr. Collins, as he lectured on the American Revolution. It was interesting hearing the story from the other side. I had always heard it taught from the American point of view, but hadn't ever really stopped to think on the British perspective. Kitty kept glancing at me. Then she tore out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it and shoved it at me. I looked down and read what she had written.
'What happened last night? Are you feeling okay?' I quickly wrote a reply. “I don't really know. I suddenly felt like I was on fire. It was freaky. I couldn't breathe, and I couldn't feel my body. All I could feel was the heat, and I could hear the crackling of flames in my ears. It was scary as all get out.” I gave her the paper, then returned to taking notes. When the paper crossed the corner of my notebook I dragged it in front of me. “Holy crow. That doesn't sound fun.. I would have cried. Could you hear us when we were talking to you?” “Yes, I could hear you. Barely. I'll tell you the story after school.” I slid the paper back to Kitty, who nodded and crumpled the paper. After class she stood and walked with me to the door.
She pointed me in the direction of my next class. Room 415. Slowly I made my way down the hall, staring at each room as I passed. The students that walked around me, staring. I knew why. I was the new kid. New meat. Boys could hardly keep their eyes to themselves, as I passed, and suddenly I felt an arm sling around my shoulder. My spine stiffened, working slowly up my body until my entire body was rigid. I glanced over to my right where I felt the body pressed against me. I couldn't tell who he was based on just what he was wearing, but the closer I paid attention, I realized it was Cam. He had a particular gait while he walked that screamed his personality. I rolled my eyes with a deep sigh and glanced up at him.
“You get scared extremely easily.” He chuckled.
“Well, it's not too common to be walking down the hall of a foreign building and have someone wrap their arm around you,” I said bitterly, “as if it's completely normal.”
He laughed again. “Sorry, love, I didn't mean to freak you out. I just figured I would be friendly and walk you to class. My first period isn't too far from yours. I can walk with you every day if you'd like.”
He was watching me carefully. I was starting to feel uncomfortable with the way everyone was treating me since the incident last night. It was starting to irritate me. I was fine. I wasn't going to fall over at any given moment and have some sort of seizure. I was fine! His hand dropped from my shoulder to my waist suddenly. I glanced down at his hand, and then up at the people passing us. It was the blonde girl, Courtney, from the night of the movie. She glared at his hand and kept walking. Cam swept me around a corner, and into a classroom. He didn't remove his hand from my waist until we sat down in the back of the room. He leaned over to the boy sitting next to him and whispered something. The boy leaned forward and looked at me. I smiled nervously and waved at him. He winked and I turned away, turning my face to my right shoulder.
“I'm flattered I've got your attention, love.” Stitch said, smiling slyly at me.
Chapter Ten
My eyes narrowed into a glare. “Everywhere I go...” I muttered, turning my face to the teacher at the bottom of the room. “Are you stalking me?”
“Of course not, I'm the one who was in this class to begin with.” he chuckled. “I can't be stalking in you if you transferred into my class.”
He had a point, but I wasn't going to admit it. I just kept my eyes focused on the front of the room and my attention fixed on taking notes. The bulk of the lecture was on something they discussed last period, so I was behind, but I filled in the gaps based on the references made during the lecture. Half way through the lecture, I felt someone's knee touch mine. I did my best to ignore it, and crossed my legs below the table to move myself away. Another ten minutes passed, and the knee was against my thigh. I bit my lip to keep from growling, and shifted slightly on my stool, turning my body toward Stitch. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, and then appraisingly at my bare thighs where my skirt ended. My cheeks burned as I turned back to my notes, but I couldn't concentrate on taking notes anymore. My mind wandered back to my dreams. I remembered Stitch and I together, and the happiness we shared. I wondered if it was just my subconscious trying to tell me something, or if I just wanted a new face in my life. I thought back to what Tony had written, and wondered what he meant by “not getting over him too fast.” Did he think because I was in a foreign country I would forget about our relationship and all the wonderful times we shared?
My gut twisted nervously remembering the phone call the other day in the park and how strange Tony had acted. He never called and said “never mind” about anything. We always talked it out, no matter what. I reached for my phone, which I had stashed in my sock, and quickly sent a text to Tony. Hey darlin' is everything okay on the home front? I hoped that the answer was yes, and that nothing bad had happened. I waited in agony for a time, and then realized it was only 5:30 at home. With a sigh, I blew my hair out of my face and glanced down at my phone. The messages screen seemed to fade away when I saw the text from the previous night. My chest tightened, and I feared I would drop back into my strange fiery coma, but the feeling never came. In fact, my entire body felt relaxed and at peace. It was odd. I had gone from a strange paranoia to complete serenity in a matter of a few seconds. I looked at Cam, who was staring at me, and then looked away to Stitch. He wasn't looking at me, but was sketching something intently rather than paying attention to the lecture. I leaned over to try and get a look at it, but he shifted so his shoulder was blocking his sketch. Turning back to my notes I noticed large red numbers in line with the rest of my notes. Beside the numbers was a name. CAM. I glanced at him, and he smiled with a wink. I looked away and rolled my eyes. I glanced back at the number. It didn't match the one from the yesterday. Count Cam out of the list.
The bell rang, and the sound of scraping stools filled the lecture hall. I closed my notebook, shoved my phone back in my sock, and put my notebook away. As I leaned over I managed to catch a glimpse of Stitch's sketch. It looked like me. I didn't know whether to be flattered, or worried. Kitty had told me that she had seen his drawings, and that some of them looked like me, so maybe I was just hallucinating. I stood up and slung my backpack over my shoulder and walked out with Cam. He offered to walk me to class, but I kindly declined and he pointed out the way. Silently I made my way down the hall and managed to find my next class. Jay waved me in after I had entered. I rushed up the steps and took a seat next to him.
“How are you enjoying your first day of school here?” he asked with a friendly smile. It wasn't a smile I had to worry about, or feel nervous about, so it made me relax, and breathe. “Anything amazingly life changing happen?”
I laughed. “I got to hear the British perspective on the American Revolution. That was pretty interesting. And Cam gave me his number.”
Jay rolled his eyes with a chuckle. “That one there is definitely life changing. So, I do have to ask this... you and Cam... is there anything going on there? I noticed he walked you in from the movie with his arm around you the whole time... and there was yesterday night... and now you have his number.”
I put my arms up defensively, my eyes widening, and I leaned away from him. “Woah, woah, woah... there is nothing going on between us. We're friends, yes, but I have a boyfriend back home, whom I love very much. I wouldn't just drop him for someone else. Don't get me wrong, Cam is a great kid, but I wouldn't up and leave Tony for someone like him.”
Jay smiled. “Even someone like Stitch?”
My face turned bright red. “Why would you ask something like that?” I stuttered.
He just smiled and the professor burst through the door proclaiming, “There is no art to finding the mind's construction on the face!” My body tensed. I heard fire, and I felt like I was going to pass out again. I reached over to clutch Jay's arm, and he looked at me. I felt dizzy, and the room blurred in a wild rainbow of colors. I felt myself sway on the stool, and Jay put his arm around my waist to keep me upright.
“Laela, are you okay? Do you need to see the nurse?” he whispered.
I gulped in deep breaths, and then my phone buzzed. I fumbled to get it out of my sock and looked at the message. Calm down, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and think of me. It was from the unknown number from the night before. Who was this person? How was I supposed to think of them if I didn't know who they were? I closed my eyes, keeping a tight grip on Jay's arm, and took a deep breath. Thinking of “me,” whoever that may be, and my body relaxed, and the fire vanished. I loosened my hold on Jay's arm and opened my eyes again. He was watching me carefully, his hand still around my waist. I nodded several times and pulled my hand away from him. Slowly he removed his arm and leaned over.
“Are you okay? Is this what happened last night?” he asked.
“Something like it. I'm okay now. I promise, don't worry about me.” I replied, sort of breathless.
He nodded, and turned back to the discussion. We were studying the play Macbeth and that line was among the first scenes of the play. Our professor, a Shakespeare major, explained that this line was the theme of the play in a sense, and that it in essence was a theme for every living person. No matter what a person may look like, it could be just a guise. Sometimes it was easy to pick out the truth on the features, but oft times it was not. How true to life that statement was. The first person I thought of was Stitch, and odd enough, secondly I thought of Vance. Though I had just met him, something seemed off. His outward features were soft and kind, but I had seen a glimpse of a different person the first time we encountered each other that day in the park. There was something there almost feral, and animal like about the way he reacted. With a sigh I shook my head. Maybe I was reading too much into this. After all, I had just met him. I couldn't make any snap judgments; people weren't always what they seemed. I needed to give him a chance.
My phone buzzed again. It was that blasted number again! With a growl, I flipped open my phone and stared at the screen. See, everything is okay now. I growled again and furiously typed my reply. Who the heck are you? And what do you want from me?! The reply came quickly. You know me, and I know you. I can't say we're friends, but I'd like to be. I laughed mentally. Fat chance if you don't plan on telling me who you are. I replied, and shoved my phone back into my sock. I would deal with this creep later.
I returned my attention to the lecture and realized how animated my professor was. He was waving his arms about, describing the setting of Macbeth was, and the historical context of it all. I could tell how much he loved his job and Shakespeare's works. He quickly excused himself and returned moment later wheeling in a huge cart of books. I assumed these were our books for the play. He called us all down, and gave each of us a book. When I reached him, he paused, holding the book out in front of him and smiled sweetly. He wasn't very old. Maybe in his thirties.
“You're a new face.” he said, tapping his chest with the book, “You must be my new student. I was trying to find you during the lecture, but you were hiding.” He extended his free hand. “My name is Henry Lauri, but you can just call me Mr. Lauri. It's so nice to have a new face to add to the cast.”
I shook his hand, wondering what he meant by cast, but decided not to ask. “I'm Laela Price.”
“Ah! American?” I nodded and his smile widened. “Wonderful to have you here in that case. We can all stand to learn some pronunciation from an American while studying Shakespeare.”
I smiled and he handed me the book. I walked slowly back up to my seat and sighed, dropping it in front of me. Jay put his hand on my shoulder.
“I have a feeling you're going to be Mr. Lauri's favorite student now.” he said.
The boy sitting next to him leaned back to look around Jay at me. “Definitely his favorite. He's always telling us that if we really want to hear the pronunciation used by the Elizabethans we should hear an American read Shakespeare. Be prepared to read. A lot.” he said, a slight hint of femininity in his voice. “My name is Daniel, by the way. It's nice to meet you.”
I smiled, admiring his blond and pink hair. “I'm Laela, you have the coolest hair.”
His cheeks turned red, and his hand rose to play with his shaggy pink locks. “Thanks! I wasn't sure if I liked it this way, but silver isn't really my color. It's going blue next. I've always wanted blond and blue hair.”
I had always wanted to do something like that to my hair, so he had my complete attention. “Really? That's so cool! I've always wanted a color in my hair.”
He concentrated on my hair for a moment before speaking again. “You should do purple. It would look good on you! Oooh! I can help if you want! My brother works at a great salon near by. We can stop in for a visit one day to get it done. If you want...”
I laughed. “Sure thing, I'd just have to let my mom know. I promised that since I was alone in a foreign country anything I did to myself needed to be relayed to her first.”
He chuckled. “That's understandable. Here, do you have a phone?” he asked, extracting his from his pocket. I nodded and proceeded to tell him my number. “Awesome! Well I will just text you and you can save my number. I always find that easier.”
I agreed, and Mr. Lauri started lecturing again. He jumped right into his animated explanations and descriptions about the many tragedies of the play, but the humor—albeit dark humor—that Shakespeare dropped throughout the play. The entire class was wrapped around his finger, leaning forward on the edges of their stools, smiles splitting their faces. Jay was right. I loved this class. Just as Mr. Lauri reached his climax, the bell rang, and the entire class slumped forward with a groan.
“Read through act one, scene one, and we'll discuss it next time!” Mr. Lauri called as the class filed out of the room.
Jay walked me to my next class; his was next door. Kitty bounded up to Jay and I, her hair bouncing along with her gait. She gabbed about her class and how some kid had passed out during the video they watched of an open heart surgery. I grimaced. I would have passed out too. I can't stand the sight of blood, and organs would have only made it worse. Cam joined us, high-fiveing Jay, and giving Kitty a hug and kiss on the cheek. He turned and opened his arms for a hug, raising one of his eyebrows and smirking. With a sigh, I stepped into his arms and he closed them around me, holding me tightly to his chest. I listened to his heart beat in his chest, closing my eyes and thinking of home. I thought of Tony and Rush, and their hugs, their strong beating hearts, and realized how much I missed home.
“Cheer up, love.” Cam said, kissing the top of my head. “We can make this place a home away from home.”
I glanced up at him, amazed at how he could read my emotions so well. His smile was gentle and warm. Jay patted my head, and Kitty squeezed my shoulder before the two of them entered their class. Cam walked with me into the class, and I was surprised to find only a few students in the class. I counted fifteen. Cam escorted me down to the third row, far closer than I had sat to any teacher today, but that was the back row of people. I sat next to him, and then the room went dark. A light clicked on in the front of the room, and a long set of notes flashed onto the projector screen. Cam and the other students went straight to work copying down the notes. With a groan I began copying them down myself. I hated teachers like this.
An hour and five pages of note taking later, the bell rang. I closed my notebook, and my eyes, looking up to the ceiling and offering a quiet “thank you lord” prayer. I shoved everything inside my backpack and made a break for the door. Kitty and Jay waited outside, and Cam was right on my heels. I clutched the edge of my skirt, glaring out into the hallway. Kitty patted my shoulder and pulled me away, singing a Katy Perry song as she went. She seemed strangely happy. I made a note to ask her about it later. Jay and Cam talked about something behind us, but I hardly paid attention. Suddenly, Kitty turned, holding my arm tightly.
“You looked a little upset earlier.” She said, staring at me with those bright green eyes. “Is everything okay?”
I sighed. “I guess... well I guess I'm a little homesick.” I admitted.
Kitty frowned. “Aww, poor thing! Well, we don't have school next week. Maybe we can fly down!” her face lit up. “Oh my goodness! That would be soooo amazing!”
I smiled, touched that she would offer something like that, but there was one problem. “I don't have that kind of money.”
She waved her hand, puffing a bunch of air out of her lips. “Don't worry about that, I can take care of that part. Right now in fact. Mom should be on her lunch break.” She fished her phone out of her bag and pressed it up to her ear. “Hi, mom, its Kitty! Listen, I've got this friend who is new here. She's from Florida... Yes, like America. Listen, she's a little homesick... Oh could you? That would be amazing!”
Stitch crossed our path and joined us. He smiled at me. I blushed. Why do you keep doing that?! I asked myself. Every time he looked at me my stomach fluttered and my cheeks burned. Kitty was chatting away with her mom, planning a trip back to my home. Suddenly she put her arms out, halting everyone.
“Who wants to take a trip to America?” she shouted at the group. Jay and Cam shot their hands up automatically, and nonchalantly Stitch raised his hand to his chest, raising one finger, like someone at an auction. “That makes... well five tickets. Thanks mom! You're amazing!”
Kitty hung up and beamed. “This is going to be great. My mom is getting the tickets and arranging for a hotel for the rest of us...” she exclaimed.
“You don't need to find a hotel. We have a big enough house,” I said, “Plus a guest house. We'll have enough room.”
Kitty's smile grew wider. “Oh that would be great! But you should probably check with your parents first. I wouldn't want to intrude.”
I pulled my phone out of my sock and Stitch laughed.
“Nice place to keep a phone.” He remarked with another chuckle.
I glared. “I didn't have anywhere else to put it.” I growled. I dialed my mom's number, hoping she wasn't at work yet. It rang a few times, then my mom picked up. “Hey mom! Um we don't have school next week, and my friends and I wondered if maybe we could come stay?”
“How are you getting down here? I don't have any money for a plane ticket.” she asked.
“Kitty's mom took care of that part. She's amazing. Is that okay though?”
“I'm fine with that. How many people are we talking? Just you and the girls?”
I paused. No mom, actually its me and Kitty, plus like three boys. I thought to myself. “No, actually its me, Kitty, Cam, Jay, and Stitch.”
“Boys? Laela Korinne Price what have you been doing in that foreign country with no parental supervision?” Her tone was threatening.
I growled. “Nothing mother.” Everyone turned to look at me. “We're all just friends. They wanted to ease my homesickness, that's all. They were going to stay in a hotel, but why pay for rooms when we have more than enough at home. So?”
She sighed and I knew I had won. “That's fine. When can we expect you?”
I beamed. “Thank you mom! I'm not exactly sure, we don't have our tickets yet, but I will let you know when I get the chance. Love you! I have to go eat lunch now, but I will call you later. Hugs and kisses.”
“Love you dear, have a good day.” she made a kissing noise over the phone and hung up.
I turned to the others as we entered the dining hall. “Kitty, tell your mom you don't need hotel rooms now. You can stay at my house.” I declared.
Kitty squealed and dropped into a rant that was completely incomprehensible. She flapped her arms at her sides and turned her face to the ceiling, turning in a little circle and squealing again. Jay chuckled and put his hand on her shoulder. We ate a delicious meal, which was an improvement on the lunch meals back home. Everything here was a step up from back home. While Cam, Jay and Kitty all planned their own mini vacation in Florida, Stitch leaned over to me, his breath on my cheek made me shiver.
“I hope you don't mind that I joined the vacation group.” He said, smiling innocently at me. “I've just never been to America... and the chance just jumped at me.”
I shook my head, “No, I would have done the same thing if it had been the reverse. I just hope you all have passports.”
“Oh don't worry. The school requires us to have one. Some classes take trips to the closer countries for their courses of study.”
“Really? That's cool! This school is so much better than mine back home. When we get there, I'll take you guys to see it. It's wimpy compared to this place.”
He smiled. “I'd like that.” He glanced across the table and banged it to catch their attention. “What say we take Laela to our favorite places around here, and when we get to Florida, she can take us to her favorite places.”
Kitty beamed again. “Yes! That would be fun!”
“Well then, its settled.” Stitch smiled at me again.
“We'll start today after school!” Kitty exclaimed.
I looked around the table at my friends. Their smiles were infectious, and their presence was as well. I noticed that everyone longed to be around them. During classes people flocked to be the first to sit by them, and our tables were always full during meals. Kitty seemed to know everyone and the boys had every girl hanging on their finger. I considered myself at that moment the odd one out. Even if I had Cam's attention, people weren't flocking to me, they didn't pay any real attention to me. Back home it was different. I was like them, but now, the tables had turned. My phone buzzed in my sock. Yanking it out, I stared at the message. Tony. Everything's fine. Love you. I smiled. I wouldn't tell him we were coming. It would be a surprise. Now I couldn't wait to get home.
